A fracture repair plate is fastenable to the surface of a bone at the site of a fracture to aid in a repair of the fracture by stabilizing the fracture. Attaching a fracture repair plate for such a purpose with threaded bone screws is well known in the art. As the proximal humerus bone breaks, the fracture lines usually propagate in predictable planes. Based on this, a fracture classification system has been described (the Neer classification system). There are up to 4 large bony fragments that typically result when a proximal humerus bone is fractured. These include: 1) the humeral head, 2) the greater tuberosity, 3) the lesser tuberosity, and 4) the diaphysis or shaft. The rotator cuff tendons attach to the greater and lesser tuberosities. It is usually possible to achieve robust purchase of a screw in the humeral diaphysis and humeral head. However, the greater and lesser tuberosities are often not amenable to screw fixation due to the frailty of these bony fragments. Fortunately, it is still often possible to reduce these fracture fragments to an anatomical position and to achieve acceptable fixation by placing sutures through the rotator cuff tendons at the tendon-bone interface, and then tying those sutures to a plate.
Fractures at the juncture of the metaphysis and diaphysis of a long bone are relatively common, for instance fractures at the surgical neck of the humerus bone. In those instances where such a fracture is complete, it may be beneficial to provide a force substantially along the axis of the diaphysis of the bone to provide a translational force between the bone segments in order to compress or distract the segments in order to reduce the fracture.
A variety of screws and anchoring devices are used in connection with fixing fracture repair plates to bone. Screws employed in conventional means and with known fracture repair devices for the repair of a fracture at the head of a long bone have been seen to back out on occasion. In addition, screws tips may cut through the bone, leading to failure of fracture fixation. Additionally, in the case of comminuted fractures the smaller fragments and their soft tissue connections are not amenable to fixation with screws, but may be more effectively repaired using sutures.
A need exists to provide a fracture repair plate for repairing a fracture of a long bone and more specifically to a fracture repair plate that provides for fixation of a fracture at the surgical neck of the humerus bone. Additionally, a need exists to provide a fracture repair plate that provides for fixation of a proximal humerus to the diaphysis of a long bone. There is also a need for a fracture repair plate for repairing a fracture at the surgical neck of the humerus bone specifically designed to account for the anatomy of the rotator cuff, proximal humeral bony anatomy and contour, and vascular supply of the proximal humerus. Additionally, a need exists for a fracture fixation plate that is optimized to allow the surgeon to use sutures to augment the repair of smaller bony fragments.
Additionally, there is a need for a fracture fixation plate that cooperates with means for providing a translational force between the bone segments in order to compress or distract the segments in order to reduce the fracture. More particularly there is a need for a fracture fixation plate that provides a means for applying a translational force between bone segments capable of imparting a force sufficient to create an impacted interface at the site of the fracture. In addition there is a need to provide means for imparting a translational force between bone segments that capable of being adapted for use with an anatomic right or left fracture repair plate. While the prior art includes translational devices, in each case these devices apply the translational force in a plane defined generally by the upper surface of a fracture repair plate, a plane defined generally by the surface of the diaphysis or in some cases along a plane that lies above both of these.
A need also exists to provide an anchor, and an anchoring system for fixation of fracture repair plates to bone, improving on the devices and systems currently employed for affixing fracture repair plates to the bone. Finally, a need also exists to provide an anchor, and an anchoring system for fixation and anchoring of a proximal humerus to the diaphysis of a long bone, for instance in the case of a fracture at the surgical neck of the humerus bone using a fracture repair plate.
Therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a fracture repair plate for repairing a fracture at the head of a long bone and more specifically to a fracture repair plate that provides for fixation of a proximal end to the diaphysis of a long bone. Another object of the present invention is to provide fracture repair plate for repairing a fracture at the head of a long bone and more specifically to a fracture repair plate that also provides for fixation of a proximal end to the diaphysis of a long bone and for tendon-to-bone repair that may accompany the fracture between the proximal end to the diaphysis of a long bone. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a fracture repair plate for repairing a fracture at the head of a long bone specifically designed to account for the anatomy of the rotator cuff, proximal humeral bony anatomy and contour, and vascular supply of the proximal humerus. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fracture repair plate that is optimized to facilitate the use of sutures for augmenting the repair of smaller bony fragments and their soft tissue connections. Another object of the present invention is to improve the devices and systems currently employed for affixing fracture repair plates to the bone.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fracture fixation plate that cooperates with means for providing a translational force between the bone segments in order to compress or distract the segments in aid of reducing the fracture. An additional objective of the present invention is to provide a fracture fixation plate that cooperates with means for providing a translational force between bone segments capable of imparting a force sufficient to create an impacted interface at the site of the fracture. An additional objective of the present invention is to provide means for imparting a translational force between bone segments that capable of being adapted for use with anatomic right and left fracture repair plates. An additional objective of the present invention is to provide means for imparting a translational force between bone segments configured such that the translational force is applied along a plane that intersects the diaphysis and preferably along a plane that lies parallel to and substantially along a longitudinal axis of the diaphysis. An additional objective of the present invention is to provide a device and system for reducing a fracture at the surgical neck of the humerus bone using a fracture repair plate that cooperates with means for providing a translational force between bone segments capable of imparting a force sufficient to create an impacted interface at the site of the fracture. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fracture fixation plate that cooperates with means for providing a translational force between bone segments capable of being adapted for use with an anatomic right or left fracture repair plate.
An additional objective of the invention is to provide an anchor, and an anchoring system for providing fixation of a fracture repair plate to a bone.